Argent Trust Co Buys Shares of 20,000 Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has invested approximately $252,000 in Kinross Gold Corporation by purchasing 20,000 shares, marking a new stake for the company in the mining sector.
• Several institutional investors, including Renaissance Technologies LLC and Mackenzie Financial Corp, have increased their holdings in Kinross Gold significantly during the fourth quarter.
• Kinross Gold has received a mixture of ratings from analysts, with a consensus of "Buy" and an average price target of $18.50, reflecting positive growth expectations.

Argent Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC - Free Report) TSE: K during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 20,000 shares of the mining company's stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Kinross Gold by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,862,230 shares of the mining company's stock worth $304,633,000 after purchasing an additional 3,224,455 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Kinross Gold by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,951,818 shares of the mining company's stock worth $129,435,000 after purchasing an additional 2,438,445 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,419,382 shares of the mining company's stock worth $87,310,000 after acquiring an additional 160,755 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 174.2% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 9,243,267 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $85,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,871,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Kinross Gold by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,682,835 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $74,128,000 after buying an additional 1,952,552 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kinross Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $28.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group started coverage on Kinross Gold in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.07.

Kinross Gold Trading Up 0.3%

Kinross Gold stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $18.78. 18,330,261 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,355,460. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $15.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.76. The company has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.55. Kinross Gold Corporation has a 52-week low of $8.13 and a 52-week high of $19.05.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC - Get Free Report) TSE: K last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.11. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 25.18% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The business had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.14 EPS. The business's revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kinross Gold Corporation will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Kinross Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.68%.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada.